Kathryn T. Hall (born 1964 in Oxford) is a leader in placebo research, Assistant professor of medicine part-time and molecular biologist[1] who directs research or teaches at several institutions, including the following:

She has published many papers and one book about the biological basis of the placebo effect.[7][8] Hall's placebo research has been the subject of featured articles in The Atlantic,[9] Science Magazine,[1] The Economist,[10] The New York Times[11] and Discover magazine.[12]

Biography

Hall got her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University in 1996.[6] Before returning to Harvard in 2010 she worked in biotech, first at Wyeth and then at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. In 2012 she joined the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and then in 2014 got a MPH in Public Health from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.[6]

She also has am MA in Documentary Film from Emerson College.[4]

Placebo research

Hall is a leader in placebo research.[13] She asserts that, "The placebo effect is a real neurological response involving multiple parts of the brain."[14] Noting that researchers have been using neuroimaging to see how the brain responds to placebos and that there are correlations between response and brain anatomy,[9] she began to focus on genetics and its effect on brain structure.[12]

Working with Ted J Kaptchuk, Hall investigated the neurotransmitter pathways in the brain that mediate placebo effects, and they found genetic markers that correlate with these pathways.[15] This led the researchers to the idea of using genetic screening to identify placebo responders which in turn could improve patient care.[11] She has also written about genetic markers in papers co-authored with Irving Kirsch and Paul M Ridker.[16]

Hall has summarized her research in the 2022 book, Placebos.[17]

Selected papers

  • Tori L. Cowger, Eleanor J. Murray, Jaylen Clarke, Mary T. Bassett, Bisola O. Ojikutu, Sarimer M. Sánchez, Natalia Linos, and Kathryn T. Hall. 'Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff'. The New England Journal of Medicine, November 2022
  • Hall KT, Loscalzo J, Kaptchuk TJ., 'Genetics and the Placebo effect: the placebome', Trends Mol Med., May 2015
  • Hall KT, Lembo AJ, Kirsch I, et al., 'Catechol-O-methyltransferase val158met: Polymorphism Predicts Placebo Effect in Irritable Bowel Syndrome'. PLoS One, 2012
  • Hall KT, Boumsell L, Schultze JL, et al., 'A Novel Leukocyte Semaphorin that Promotes B-cell Aggregation and Differentiation', Natl Acad Sci U S A., October 1996

References

  1. 1 2 "Outsmarting the placebo effect" By Kelly Servick, Science Magazine Vol 345 Issue 6203, 19 September 2014
  2. ↑ Organizational Chart: Deputy Director: Kathryn Hall Boston Public Health Commission, February 2022
  3. ↑ Kathryn T. Hall, PhD: Director of Basic & Translational Research, Osher Center For Integrative Medicine: Harvard Medical School And Brigham and Women's Hospital
  4. 1 2 Kathryn Tayo Hall, PhD, MPH, Class of 1996 Harvard Edu: Perspectives of Change
  5. ↑ Kathryn Tayo Hall, Ph.D. Harvard Catalyst Profiles, Jan 9, 2022
  6. 1 2 3 Kathryn T. Hall, PhD, MPH Brigham and Women's Hospital: Division of Preventive Medicine Faculty
  7. ↑ Publications of KT Hall National Library of Medicine
  8. ↑ Kathryn Hall at Google Scholar
  9. 1 2 "Is the Placebo Effect in Your DNA?" By Cari Romm, The Atlantic, 13 April 2015
  10. ↑ "Are you easily pleased?" Science & technology: Genes and the placebo effect, The Economist, 2 May 2015
  11. 1 2 "What if the Placebo Effect Isn't a Trick?" By Gary Greenberg, The New York Times, 7 Nov 2018
  12. 1 2 "Power of the Placebo" By Erik Vance, Discover magazine, 20 Jul 2014
  13. ↑ Interview with Dr. Kathryn Hall on Placebo Research Osher Center For Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School And Brigham and Women's Hospital, 28 July 2021
  14. ↑ Placebos expert Kathryn T Hall: ‘The effect can rival painkillers like ibuprofen or even morphine’ by Zoë Corbyn, 8 Oct 2022, The Guardian
  15. ↑ Kathryn T Hall1 and Ted J Kaptchuk, "Genetic biomarkers of placebo response: what could it mean for future trial design?" Program in Placebo Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 1 Apr 2013, doi:10.4155/cli.13.8.
  16. ↑ Kathryn T Hall, Paul M Ridker, et al., "Genetic variation at the coronary artery disease risk locus GUCY1A3 modifies cardiovascular disease prevention effects of aspirin", European Heart Journal, June 2019, DOI:10.1093/eurheartj/ehz384
  17. ↑ Placebos by Kathryn T Hall, MIT Press Essential Knowledge series (October 2022), ISBN 9780262544252
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